For kin
One day they’ll say, “When we were kids, we found a place to call home, a family cottage that became a midwinter fortress. The floor was lava, and there were owls each night, and always crumpets at breakfast.”
Or, something like that, anyway.
In places where lochside retreats are eclipsed by peasouper fogs, and sea-crafted gales are carried in on the wings of sooty shearwaters, your motley crew (and the dogs, too) will always be found together. Here’s to time away with your homefolk, to tallying up the seconds between lightning flashes and thunder claps, and the careful cherry-picking of Monopoly tokens.
These weathered seasons are for luxury hideaways. For teaching the children the cosy curriculum: discovering herbs in the garden at dawn, squeezing lemon wedges over cast-iron puffed pancakes at lunch, and melting boiled sweets into stained glass sugar cookies for last lesson. What you feel most has no name but cinnamon, blankets, puzzles, chuckles, and rivers of honey flowing from the drizzler.
Little Red Lock
Claydon, Banbury, Oxfordshire, UK
A luxury country home on England's finest waterway, Little Red Lock is perched on the Oxford Canal and reachable by narrowboat; a place for firepit s'mores and fizz in the hot tub.
Sleeps: Up to 6 guests
Alternative Group Option: Up to 4 & Up to 2 guests
From: £1,850 per week, £1,395 per short break
Pets: Two well-behaved dogs are welcome
Features: Hot tub, fire pit, kayaks with life jackets for the canal
Lantern House
Fifield, Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, The Cotswolds, UK
In this Cotswold cottage in the tranquil village of Fifield, three centuries of history meet contemporary design. Unwind in sunlit rooms, a wildlife-led garden and steaming hot tub.
Sleeps: Up to six guests
Alternative Group Option: Up to 4 guests
From: £2,150 per week, £1,595 per short break
Pets: Two small dogs are welcome
Features: Hot tub, cold plunge and gym
The Ruby Barn
Sandford St Martin, Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, The Cotswolds, UK
Bringing a touch of Californian chicness to the Oxfordshire countryside, this luxury Cotswold stone barn conversion has been fashioned with soul.
Sleeps: Up to 6 guests
Alternative Group Option: Up to 2 guests
From: £1,995 per week, £1,495 per short break
Pets: Two well behaved small dogs are welcome
Features: Children´s play area with slide
